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Bath & Body

Skincare

Beauty Confession: I Ditch My Eyeshadow Brushes For This Cheap Tool

Beauty confession time! So I have like a lot of makeup brushes. I’ve splurged on some expensive ones but I also tend to collect a lot of them from sets, kits, Holiday limited edition, etc…etc…

You know when the Holidays come around every single brand and their mom is releasing some cute or super elegant brush set that becomes a want so hard I begin to sweat until I have it in my greedy hands. Don’t sit there acting like you don’t know what I mean, we’ve all been there! Wink, wink, nudge, nudge!

But I ditch all my best eyeshadow brushes for this cheap tool!

Confession?

I buy bulk eyeshadow applicators on Ebay to use for not only swatching makeup but also to apply eyeshadow. Granted, I use my regular brushes to blend but when I’m packing color on my lids I always reach for a cheap as chips eyeshadow applicator.

Why?

Because 1, they work great packing color on. I mean even the crummiest, most sheer eyeshadow can be applied intensely with these! And 2, most important, they minimize fall out in a major way!

So yeah, I’m likely living in 1979 here but sponge eyeshadow applicators are my best friend.

Grab one or two from Sephora one day (Sephora has them located on the end caps so you can test eyeshadow in store) and try them out for yourself.

Comments

I’m with you. I have a short-handled brush that I think I got at Walgreens, maybe ecotools, but I’ve always loved & bought the packages of sponge-tips, usually the ones that are wide on one end & a slim tip on the other!!

I’m with you on this one 😀 I even do blending with those, although I need only to soften the edges of the wash of eyeshadow that I apply. I usually love the ones that come with the eyeshadows (when they do).

I agree, they’re really good for when you want an intense application. Sometimes a brush is just too wishy-washy to use, ha! I know lots of MUA’s hate them but so what, I’m not one, I’m an amateur lol!

Sponge-tip applicators are the BEST for packing on eyeshadow – they also hold the product better, enabling you to get it from the pan/jar to your lid without as much fallout.

I suspect the whole “sponge-tip applicators are for NOVICES – you must use a BRUSH to apply eyeshadows” thing was started by some brush company wanting to expand their customer base to the consumer market. In other words, it was based on the brush companies making more money, not due to brushes being better at doing the job.

We’ve been brainwashed to think sponge applicators work poorly, but they don’t (although I agree a brush is often needed for blending). I’ve often wondered how many people know most beauty bloggers do use sponge-tip applicators for their swatches (which I’ll bet is the reason why far too many wonder why they don’t get the same color payoff when they buy the product and apply it to their own lids with a brush).

This post makes me so happy! I was using the sponge applicators until about a year ago when I got really into Colourpop eyeshadows and just use my fingers now (the way they suggest you apply it and I feel like I’m finger painting :D). I always felt like I was doing something wrong when using a brush because my shadow would go everywhere! I never had any fallout issues with the sponge tipped applicators. They are also great for the Colourpop shadows if you don’t want to use your fingers. I still try to use my brushes now and then, but I also buy the $1 or $2 packs of sponge tipped ones from ELF 🙂

Katie, I use ’em with colourpop too! 🙂 It’s actually a good way to pack color on because those colourpop shadows are damn soft 😀 I agree, it really does feel like I’m doing something wrong when I use a regular eyeshadow brush as I get fall out everywhereeeeeee!

Haha yes! I usually use them for drugstore eyeshadows if they’re a bit dry and hard and they work wonderfully. I have a maybelline expert wear palette and use a sponge applicator to apply and soften the edges. Whenever I use a brush it picks up barely any color and I get so mad! But with the sponge I magically have color on my eyes!

I’m even worse, being a semi trained makeup artist that dislikes brushes 😀

Or it’s not that I dislike them, but they are time consuming to use etc. (talking about my own simple daily look). It’s just st not something I have capacity for with a 4 year old always at my heels, even though I kept forcing it in the beginning.

You are not alone. I must have at least 2000 of them, as I often buy them in bulk from a regular eBay seller as well (I’m terrified he/she will stop selling them one day, theres a quality about these particular applicators that I find perfect!). Kevin Aucoin made a point about using these for eyeshadow in one of his books years ago, and I totally get it. I honestly think brushes are better for blending, or to sheer out a color. I also think the reason they get a bad rep is because they are often found in inexpensive shadow palettes, and they are mainly for short term use. But they are the absolute best for swatching, and getting the most out of any difficult eyeshadow.

haha likewise! I just literally purchased 1,000 of them myself! I had to special order though because she only had the short ones in stock and I prefer the longer ones! No kidding! I did’n’t know he addressed these 😀 that’s pretty cool!

Care to share your source? I prefer the longer ones, too, and they can be difficult to find (and expensive, especially considering how few there are in the packages available in stores or online at E.L.F.)

My source is actually in this post 🙂 I linked to the store I use. Her name is Tami! She has the exact same ones as Sephora uses (the long handle ones). It took her about 3 days to order the longer ones for me and I grabbed 1,000 of them for, don’t quote me, $60 bucks? She doesn’t have them listed, contact her directly and ask 🙂

Oh well DUH. Leave it to me to completely ignore that part highlighted in RED no less….LOL!

Based on the number of comments on this post, I’m beginning to think despite most of us having a complete collection of brushes, there are still a lot of us using sponge-tip applicators in secret…behind closed doors…lest we be branded “amateurs”…

Some of us have let the cosmetic companies, bloggers (not YOU, Miss Muse!), and YouTuber’s convince us that unless we have and use multiple brushes, we can’t possibly be applying our makeup correctly. Think of how many different types of brushes are sold just for the eyes alone.

The truth is, unless you are doing something very detailed, using multiple colors with very specific placement, most everyday looks can be created with a sponge-tip applicator and one brush for blending.

I completely agree. For the most part, I do not like brushes. Every quad, trio, duo and single in my collection has its own sponge applicator with it. That way you don’t have to wash constantly. The ones from Cover Girl in the 3 pack last forever and have a round end and a pointed end. You can also get them at Sephora and in the Essence line at Ulta. Stay away from the store brand ones, they usually suck.

The first I remember all this brush hype was when Maybelline put out its Natural Accents collection which was a complete MAC rip-off (but very nice). For a drugstore line to put out a blush that didn’t have a brush with it was HUGE. Many thought consumers would never go along with it and would certainly not buy separate tools. Now, of course, it happens all the time.

I’m with you Muse! I have oily lids that eat through everything, so packing on shadows with a sponge tip is usually the best way to make sure the shadow lasts, especially with lower quality shadows. And they are essential for baked shadows, which are usually hard, so a brush won’t pick up color. I usually pack it on with a sponge tip, then use a blush to blend and soften.